a. Field of Invention
Ultraviolet and other non-visible light bulbs are being used in many diverse applications, and a significant growth area involves sanitizing and/or destruction of germs, pathogens and other undesirable or unhealthy organisms in airborne applications, surface applications and even liquid treatments, such as water, blood and blood components. In addition, LED lighting is replacing fluorescent lighting rapidly and is expected to be very commonly used extensively throughout office buildings, schools, hospitals, industrial plants, malls, and homes for lighting, outdoor lighting, and for many other uses. Likewise High Intensity LED lamps and similar high intensity applications are also growing rapidly. Unfortunately, due to individual LED failures, as well as due to variations in power, power factor, brown out, surges and other system variations or failures that cause complete LED lamp failure, LED applications are undergoing significant, unacceptable failures and are seeing a reconsideration of LED uses. Many new systems will, thus, continue to utilize fluorescent lamps, but owners many want to or may be required to switch over to LEDs at some future date. The present invention is directed to a driver (controller) that is different and superior to existing LED controllers and drivers, as well as fluorescent and ultraviolet drivers, and eliminates nearly all of their predecessor problems, including corrections for all of the stated difficulties above. In addition, this same present invention driver is just as beneficial for non-visible light as it is for visible light. Thus, the present invention is an electronic driver for both visible and non-visible light bulbs and can be programmed to drive selected wavelengths, as well as selected types of lamps, such as LED lamps, ultraviolet lamps and fluorescent lamps, wherein they are uniquely interchangeable with the same present invention driver. Additionally, the present invention drivers and lamp systems control the output power for optimum control and use, utilizing sensing components and adapting to different wattages and making corrective adjustments to current features. These present invention drivers also employ power factor control, voltage and surge protection, and uniquely recognize and adjust to different power changes to non-visible and LED and fluorescent lamps, as well as correct for dead individual lamps or bulbs and for dead lamps in a bank of lamps. Thus, when one or more bulbs fail, power to the remaining bulbs or LEDs does not adversely change, but is immediately corrected to account for the loss.
b. Description of Related Art
The following patents are of interest to the present invention technology:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,920 discloses a ballast for control of a two-pin fluorescent lamp. This device utilizes an even more complex system to supply a wave with a “noncontinuous sinusoidal shape” to the lamps. Effectively these lamps see a single cycle of a sine wave followed by a “notch” or dead zone and then another single cycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,040 to Guy Lestician, the present inventor herein, is directed to an electronic ballast device for the control of gas discharge lamps. The device is comprised of a housing unit with electronic circuitry and related components. The device accepts a.c. power and rectifies it into various low d.c. voltages to power the electronic circuitry, and to one or more high d.c. voltages to supply power for the lamps. Both the low d.c. voltages and the high d.c. voltages can be supplied directly, eliminating the need to rectify a.c. power. The device switches a d.c. voltage such that a high frequency signal is generated. Because of the choice of output transformers matched to the high frequency (about 38 kHz) and the ability to change frequency slightly to achieve proper current, the device can accept various lamp sizes without modification. The ballast can also dim the lamps by increasing the frequency. The device can be remotely controlled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,090 to Guy Lestician, the present inventor herein, is directed to an electronic ballast system including one or more gas discharge lamps which have two unconnected single electrodes each. The system is comprised of a housing unit with electronic circuitry and related components and the lamps. The system accepts a.c. power and rectifies it into various low d.c. voltages to power the electronic circuitry, and to one or more high d.c. voltages to supply power for the lamps. Both the low d.c. voltages and the high d.c. voltages can be supplied directly, eliminating the need to rectify a.c. power. The device switches a d.c. voltage such that a high frequency signal is generated. Because of the choice of output transformers matched to the high frequency (about 38 kHz) and the ability to change frequency slightly to achieve proper current, the device can accept various lamp sizes without modification. The ballast can also dim the lamps by increasing the frequency. The device can be remotely controlled. Because no filaments are used, lamp life is greatly extended.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,597 to Wood describes a circuit and method for driving a load such as a gas discharge illumination device from an ac main supply with a high power factor. The circuit includes a pair of electronic switches arranged in a half bridge configuration and a self oscillating driver circuit having two outputs for driving respective ones of the electronic switches, the electronic switches being coupled across a dc bus voltage and having a switched output coupled to the load. The circuit further includes a voltage regulator circuit coupled across the dc bus voltage and coupled to the self oscillating driver circuit, the voltage regulator circuit maintaining the dc bus voltage within a preset range and preventing the dc bus voltage from exceeding the range if the load is removed or becomes an open circuit. The voltage regulator preferably is a boost regulator switching an inductance. The circuit is particularly suitable for driving gas discharge illumination devices, e.g., fluorescent lamps, at a high power factor with minimum instability of the dc bus.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,312,582 B2 to Newman et al An electronic ballast for driving at least one lamp comprising a rectifying circuit operatively connectable to an AC line; a current drawing circuit connected across said rectifying circuit; and an inverter circuit connected to said rectifying circuit that supplies a lamp current to said at least one lamp; wherein said current drawing circuit draws current from said AC line when the instantaneous voltage of said AC line nears zero to reduce the total harmonic distortion of the input current drawn by said ballast.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,952,293 B2 to Kelly Power describes factor correction and driver circuits and stages. More particularly, power factor correction circuits are described that utilize an auxiliary inductor winding for power regulation. Driver circuits configured for electrical loads such as series arrangements of light emitting diodes are also described. An exemplary embodiment of a driver circuit can implement a comparator and/or a voltage regulator to allow for improved output current uniformity for high-voltage applications and loads, such as series configurations of LEDs. Embodiments of PFC stages and driver stages can be combined for use as a power supply, and may be configured on a common circuit board. Power factor correction and driver circuits can be combined with one or more lighting elements as a lighting apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,441,210 B2 to Shteynberg et al provides an apparatus, system and method for power conversion to provide power to solid state lighting, and which may be coupled to a first switch, such as a dimmer switch. An exemplary system for power conversion comprises: a switching power supply comprising a second, power switch; solid state lighting coupled to the switching power supply; a voltage sensor; a current sensor; a memory; a first adaptive interface circuit to provide a resistive impedance to the first switch and conduct current from the first switch in a default mode; a second adaptive interface circuit to create a resonant process when the first switch turns on; and a controller to modulate the second adaptive interface circuit when the first switch turns on to provide a current path during the resonant process of the switching power supply.
Thus, while there is extensive prior art in the ballast and LED lamp areas, none teaches an electronic ballast to power and control LED lamps, in the manner set forth herein. Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.